April, 2009
In This Issue:
Where to Find Mark this Month
My Blog on CTV / Canada AM
Seeds of Diversity
Humber College / SHARE Agricultural Foundation
Toronto Rhododendron Society - Annual Plant Sale
The Ontario Rock Garden & Hardy Plant Society - Plant Sale
gTo Green Tie Event
Lilac Gardens of Lindsay
Canadian Cancer Society Spring Garden Tour
Through the Garden Gate: Beyond the Bridal Path
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Season Opener!
I have to admit that I was as excited as a school boy being let out for the summer this past Saturday. I was working in the back yard, cutting down our perennials and ornamental grasses when I looked up from my crouch position at our pond to see this wonderful big blotch of bright orange, hovering just below the surface.
It was our school of koi and goldfish. They are back! I called Mary, who was standing at the sink in the kitchen to come out and see…… holy smokes! If the big two fish hadn’t grown a full inch or more! And the colour of all 200 or so of them just knocked my eyes out –so to speak.
This is the true beginning of spring. The sun has warmed the pond water up enough to draw our pet fish to the surface looking for – well, whatever they look for first thing in spring. I just know one thing for sure – after a long cold Canadian winter I find the arrival of my fish a very big deal indeed.
Chances are they are not bigger nor have they become a brighter orange… it is all relative. We live in a world of white and grey for the winter months and to see these living gems emerge from their winter slumber is like turning the lights on in a movie theatre after a sleeper of a story. Bingo! We are back in business again!
A few days ago I was at the Vineland Research facility in Niagara for a brief tour and saw this wonderful drift of snowdrops. Another sure sign of spring!
So there you go – if you live in the north or on the prairies I can tell you that spring is on its way for you too!
On that note, some advice about your lawn.
Make no mistake: your lawn is good for the environment.
If you have any doubts, check this out:
A lawn sequesters carbon, filters toxins out of rain water, eats CO2 and returns fresh oxygen to the air. It is soft to walk on barefoot, is 5 to 10 degrees cooler than asphalt and supports a host of wildlife, most of which is too small for the naked eye to see but believe you me, it is there in abundance. A handful of rich root-level subsoil is teaming with over 4 billion micro organisms: michoriza, beneficial bacteria, sow bugs, millipedes, earth worms and the like. These are the good guys.
In short – a lawn is the most sophisticated living ground cover known to mankind.
All of that said, here is how you can enjoy a nice lawn, without the use of weed or pest controls (to be performed in this order):
1. Rake your lawn lightly with a fan rake – the goal is to get the grass blades to stand upright and to remove the winter debris.
2. Aerate if necessary. I only aerate my lawn where foot traffic occurs as this is where the soil is compacted and most in need of the fresh air that you introduce when aerating. Use a power aerator if you are doing your whole lawn or buy an inexpensive manual ‘foot’ aerator at the hardware store for small areas.
3. Overseed where your lawn is thin and where weeds are a problem. Use a good quality grass seed (I recommend Golfgreen) and remember that the ultimate pedigree of your lawn is in the bag! Lay down 2 to 3 cm of triple mix (equal parts top soil, peat moss and compost). Rake smooth. Spread the grass seed thinly at one pound for 400 sq. ft (1/2 kg per 40 sq. metres). Rake THAT smooth. Water. You will thicken your lawn nicely and compete most weeds out of existence –before they even get a start!
4. Fertilize. Use a good quality fertilizer that is relatively high in nitrogen (about 20 to 28%) which is represented by the first # in the 3 number analysis. And make sure that it contains a ‘slow release’ nitrogen ingredient. This produces a greener lawn over a longer period (8 to 10 weeks) AND feeds the lawn with the one element that it craves the most – nitrogen.
5. Cut 2 ½ to 3 inches high. Often we cut our lawns much too short. Remember this: the taller the grass blades the longer the roots. The longer the roots the greater the resistance to drought, disease and insect problems. AND most lawn weeds are ‘shaded out’ by long grass.
6. Mulch. Use a mulching mower and return the nitrogen-rich grass clippings to the root zone of your lawn.
7. Use a reel-type push mower. Eliminate emissions and enjoy the sound of the cutting action of an old fashioned reel-type mower. Note: the new models are much lighter than those of 30 or 40 years ago. And they hold their cutting edge much longer.
8. Replace your old mower. You have heard that gas driven lawn mowers are big emissions spewers… right? Well, the new lawn mowers on the market are much ‘cleaner’ burning than the old ones. Look for MTD or Honda for two of the cleanest burning brands. And avoid the 2 cycle mowers that require you to mix oil with the gas.
Just following a few of the guidelines above will improve on the environmental impact that your lawn has on your neighbourhood.
If you would like more information be sure to log on to www.markcullen.com or www.cilproducts.ca or check out my blog at www.ca.lifestyle.yahoo.com any day of the week. I add a new blog each Wednesday (sometimes Tuesday!) and would love you to leave a comment or question there.
My choice for the April Product of the Month is my new book The Canadian Garden Primer, An Organic Approach. It is my top choice this month because I will be travelling cross-country with my book tour.
Gardening is greener than ever as more Canadians want to go - and grow- organic. In The Canadian Garden Primer, I draw on my personal experience to offer an easy-to-understand, comprehensive guide to designing and creating organic gardens of every size and kind, including suburban back yards, city plots, northern gardens and vegetable patches.
This book outlines how to guarantee gardening success in detailed chapters about soil-building, watering, mulching and other techniques. And it tells you what plants - especially native plants - work where, and how to grow them properly.
Chock full of information and anecdotes, and illustrated with more than 400 full-colour photographs, The Canadian Garden Primer is an indispensable book for organic gardeners of every stripe from coast to coast of our great country.
(Home Hardware item# 5010-205)
Available at Home Hardware, Indigo/Chapters and independent book stores.
CTV/Home Hardware $50,000 Backyard Makeover is Back!
The successful $50,000 giveaway contest at Home Hardware is back this spring – be sure to check it out mid April at www.homehardware.ca or www.ctv.ca or my website www.markcullen.com. You will be glad that you did! The winners of last years’ big prize in New Brunswick sure were! Lots of ‘smaller’ prizing too. If you call a new lawn mower ‘small’.
For the month of April:
- Prune late flowering shrubs like Rose of Sharon and hydrangea.
- apply organic ‘dormant spray’ to all fruit trees, roses and flowering shrubs when evening temperatures remain above zero all night and before the buds open.
- Add generous quantities of compost to all of your garden soil in preparation for the big planting month of May.
- Cut back all perennials that remain standing from last fall.
- Plant shrubs, evergreens and roses (and trees for goodness sake!) as these are perfectly frost hardy and will not be harmed by ground frost.
- Enjoy your spring flowering bulbs – cut some and bring them indoors to enjoy on the kitchen table!
- Check out Zoomer magazine for a story about our chickens… great fun! It is right after the story on Queen Elizabeth (the second). www.zoomermag.com
- Apply Golfgreen lawn fertilizer for a long lasting, environmentally responsible approach to lawn feeding. www.cilproducts.ca
Have a great one and I will talk to you in a month!
Merchant of Beauty,
Mark
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